Hear Broken Voices For Glass Shards Sing
by death-in-the-orchard
Summary: Alucard and Seras Victoria are reduced to forms they should never have been able to return to. Anderson enters the story as both of the vampires are at his relative mercy...
1. Chapter 1

"Who the Hell are you people!" the savage little blonde thrashed in the poor mercenary's grip as she kneed him between the legs, causing the man to fall like a sack of bricks. The girl advanced on the much taller blonde, stopping before the desk with a blatant pout. "Did you just adopt me? Without goddamn telling me? Taking me in my sleep for…"

"What are you talking about, little girl?" The sharp voice made the little blonde lose her confidence for a second and she stared wide eyed at Integra Hellsing's piercing blue eyes. "What is your name?" The girl swallowed at the command, but managed to glare at the woman.

"Seras Victoria."

The room was quiet and Integra's cigar tumbled out of her mouth. She was the first to recover as she leaned over the desk to get a better look at the girl. "Seras…you are really Seras Victoria?"

"What of it, old hag?" the child stuck her tongue out as a vein on Integra's forehead throbbed. Integra smiled wickedly, making Seras back away.

The child was yowling as the female Hellsing dragged her down the halls of the estate, leading her into the dungeons. Seras grew quiet, terrified of the darkness around her and Integra's grip loosened in response. She opened the door to the cell, followed by Pip and Walter.

The room was deathly silent, as was to be expected during the day, but Integra's mouth turned in a frown as she heard it, never having walked in on the vampire sleeping before. The coffin lay in the shadows cast by only the partial light of the door and Hellsing approached it slowly. Then she heard it.

At first she thought it was the sound of a heartbeat, and she screwed up her eyes behind her glasses as she stepped closer to the origin of the sound, the black casket. Then she realized with shock that it was accompanied by the voice of a child. A child was screaming hoarsely and banging on the heavy lid of the coffin. Integra dropped Seras' ear with the forming shock and immediately ordered Walter and Pip to help open the coffin.

The three gasped and backed away despite what they had readied themselves for. In the silk of the coffin lining, a sobbing boy with red eyes was murmuring in a foreign tongue, shaking uncontrollably.

"When did you find Seras?" Integra whispered, unable to move to touch the boy.

"This morning. The little devil has been rampaging about the estate since dawn." Pip muttered, still sore about it.

Integra's eyes filled with pity for the child. It was almost one in the afternoon. Walter and Pip watched the miniature Alucard in quiet as Integra bent down and touched his shoulder. The boy flinched, swallowing his sobs and blinking away his tears as he stared at the woman.

"Alucard? Is that you?" she whispered, barely able to keep her voice level. There was no response from the child for several moments. Then he began to speak in an unmistakable Romanian tongue. When he only saw upset faces above him, the child tried German and then Turkish and Latin. "What does this mean?" Integra straightened, looking at Walter whose face was pale and his eyes unseeing as they were directed at the vampire. "Walter?" her tone was a bit rough, but it caught the elderly man's attention and he cleared his throat.

"I do not know, Sir."

Little Seras moved to the side of the coffin and the adults failed to notice as the children watched one another. Alucard's eyes were widened with awe at the girl, not remembering the last time he had seen another child other than the sultan's son. It had been months since he had last seen Radu, his younger brother, and he welcomed the sight of the pretty girl with a smile. Suddenly a fist struck him in the mouth and he retreated away from the cold blue eyes.

The room had frozen as all eyes stared at Seras and then the bloodied Alucard.

"Your teeth are ugly. They look like a dog's, like fangs." Seras' monotone brought attention back to the confused boy and he resisted as the mercenary brought the child's hands from his mouth. The wound was healed and, his mouth open, sharp little fangs could be seen.

"You have fangs as well then." Integra pulled on the little girl's lips, making an almost comical false smile on her face.

"UAH!" Seras threw away the hands and backed away from Integra, lifting her own fingers to run over the sharp canines. "What?" the gasp stole away her coldness for a moment and she seemed like the child she was.

"I'll have to explain." Integra sighed and then groaned in annoyance before looking at Alucard who was staring at the coffin. His childlike face had become like stone and she wondered for a moment if he was returning to his usual self, but then he drew his arms around his middle, hugging himself as his eyes closed.

The situation had been explained to Seras a week ago. Her vampiric strength was returning slowly, but she was coaxing it back by challenging the mercenaries to individual or dual arm wrestling matches. She believed that her gained strength was the product of her invested effort, but Hellsing had serious doubts about the matter. Integra smoked a cigar and watched her more placid servant sit like a lifeless doll in a chair before her desk. He had been looking at the same spot on the red patterned rug for the past three hours, only blinking occasionally if his shoulders twitched, which they did only a few times. She sighed at the depressing sight of the child. He had been alarmed by everything he saw when he left the dungeon, jolting at the lights that turned on by magic…etcetera. She recalled a memory that still stabbed into her heart with its every beat of remembrance and persistent existence.

_Integra began to do her paper work as she could think of nothing to do for the vampire other than let him be. Time passed and she flinched when there was a tug on her sleeve. Looking to her side, her lips parted at the large red eyes that met her. He pointed at her neck and all warmth drained from Integra for a breathless moment, then she realized she was wearing a crucifix. His eyes showed joy and hope at the little cross, making Integra smile, but the expression froze and she grew cold with dread._

_Alucard had touched the cross and screeched in pain, backing away to the other side of the room, his skin smoking. He stared at her and then his hand. Then he cried out something in Romanian and fell to his knees, howling in misery._

"_The Holy Father has cast me from his side! He no longer wants such a tainted thing as myself!"_

_Integra heard the same cry in the form of a whisper, but she couldn't understand what her servant was saying. Now he was muttering to himself, rubbing his arms furiously._

"_Dirty, dirty, dirty, filthy, sinful infidel touch…dirty…" _

_He recoiled from the woman who touched him, blood tears rolling off his face as his eyes narrowed in pain, moving away, not wanting to contaminate her. His eyes widened with a thought and he attempted to speak in Latin again._

_Integra was kneeling by the child, but, as she was turned away and he spoke in Latin, she stood up, giving him an apologetic look before returning to her desk, biting her lip._

_Alucard watched the foot of the desk in a daze and he remained that way until Walter took him to the dungeons. _

Walter had provided the rest of the memory.

_He looked at the cell without surprise, but as he failed to move towards the coffin Walter realized his mistake and took the boy to a spare bedroom, but Alucard began to slow as the door came into view, his apprehension obvious. The butler had to coax the child to enter the room, holding it open with a smile. He led Alucard to the bed and put him on it. Sinking into the soft mattress, the boy realized how exhausted he was and he collapsed on the pillow without bothering to pull back the sheets when the door closed and Walter was gone. Seras had already fallen asleep hours ago and was snoring as the mercenaries ignored her or laughed in amusement._

The boy seemed like a little prince with his perfect posture and the way he attempted to greet others with a polite nod of his head, but Seras targeted him for these, seeing them as a flaunting of snobbery. She knocked him down often and hit him without warning, making sure not to be caught. It was to her advantage as he healed instantly from any injuries. She taunted him and enticed him to fight back but he only came to shake his head at her, understanding her intent. He would then say something in Romanian, making the blonde strike him again. This continued, Seras' amount of strength being invested in the pastime increasing each day until finally Integra and Walter were startled by the sound of shattering glass. They ran out of the office into a hall to find Seras smiling at the broken window. Walter began to scold her as Integra walked over to inspect the damage. She gasped, making Walter come to her side.

Both of them looked down the three stories at the patch of blood where Alucard had fallen. Now the blood was moving back into the boy and he was walking away, unfazed, or so it seemed until he suddenly appeared in the room. His glare made the three body's start and Seras backed away, trying to return the look and failing. He disappeared and Seras cried out as he stood before her for a moment. Then his hand became a blur and he threw the girl across the room like a little rag doll, repeating the act again and again as she would cry out or whimper. He only stopped when Integra recovered her voice and screamed the order at him. It was the intensity of the tone that made him realize he had lost his temper. Some guilt came over his face when he saw the terrified and bawling girl on the ground and he offered her his hand. She only jerked away and screamed at him.

"Monster! You're a monster! A freak! Get the Hell away from me!"

Alucard might not have been able to understand the words but he keenly felt her disgust and fear. His steps were soundless as they brought him to the shadows and he disappeared.

Walter searched for him as dawn came, becoming frantic as the sun rose higher, producing nothing. He reported his suspicions to Integra and she burst out of her doors, seeking the mercenaries. They laughed at first when they were told their mission, then color drained from their faces as Alucard's potentially hazardous nature was illustrated along with his inability to understand the current world.

"Who knows what he would do if he came across a car and felt it to be a threat? How would people respond to a little child tossing a truck into a building with ease? What if his thirst is triggered?"

The men left the mansion, both intimidated and determined by Integra's words.

Meanwhile, the little Alucard was hiding in the shadows, watching the busy midmorning street, searching for something familiar. Anything at all. He had to flee from the building mass of rodents that insisted on following him around. Then he realized that they avoided the light, so, casting aside discomfort, he stepped into society, disappearing into the crowds on the street.

It was dusk when Pip caught sight of the little vampire, but as the mercenaries had been forced to split up, he was alone as he tried to sneak up on the boy. Alucard recognized the presence and began to walk away, hoping to blend in with the masses, but the mercenary's skills allowed him to keep the vampire within his sights.

Alucard suddenly stopped, facing Pip as he attempted to convince him to leave him alone, speaking in Romanian. The attempt failed and he was forced to duck when Pip made a grab for him and he started to run down the sidewalk. The shine of a large cross distracted him long enough for Pip to catch up. He escaped the wild grab and threw himself at the priest making Pip blanch in horror.

"Father! Father! Please tell me you speak the language!" he said in Latin, tightening his hold on the Holy garments in building desperation. "Please!"

The boy cried out in protest as Pip ripped him away from the priest and held him to his chest, staring at the Iscariot with remnants of self doubt. Anderson was glaring at the boy, clearly sensing the demonic presence and he grabbed Pip, bringing them into a side ally before he crushed the mercenary against a cinderblock wall. "I know you." He hissed, bringing his face into Pips, his eyes wide with the madness of his love for the Lord. "What is Hellsing doing with another vampire?" His hand abruptly tore the now quiet child from the arms as Pip tried to cling on to him.

"Stop! Please! He can't do anything!" Pip's plea halted and Anderson stiffened. The little vampire was holding on the priest as if for his dear undead life.

"Please Father. I have touched the symbol of our Lord and He has in turn burned me with His fury. I cannot speak to any other one of the Faith as they do not speak the language. I have found only infidels here. Please Father….tell me that you can understand my words." the voice continued in a mixture of Latin and Romanian, substituting his primary language as he could not find a word in the other.

When his surprise subsided, Anderson's gaze fell without compassion on the damned child and he threw it against the wall with the impact of a bayonet in his chest. Alucard gave a hacking cough, spitting out blood. He was quiet though, and looked at the priest with empty eyes that soon closed in acceptance. Pip came between the paladin in the vampire, drawing out a gun unwillingly. Just as conflict began to seem unavoidable, the priest's eyes widened at the little voice hidden by the mercenary. He backed away to see over Pip's shoulder, ending the aggression in the other man with his expression.

Alucard was whispering to himself in Latin and red ran from his eyes. Anderson was the only one who could hear the reverent recital of the Lord's Prayer.

"Open your eyes."

The vampire's red eyes flew open at the familiar language and he smiled through the tears, but it was short lived as the paladin's face also filled with recognition.

"Alucard?"

Pip became defensive again while the child's face became a mask of disappointment. "What does that word mean, Father?"

At this, the priest's attention went back to Pip and he scowled. "What is this?"

"Er…well…you see…" he looked at his gun and the priest's empty hands but decided to leave it exposed. "Mr. Alucard and Ms. Seras seem to be…not right…."

Anderson's eyes dulled as he realized his only source for an adequate answer would be from Integra Hellsing herself. His green eyes flashed to life and he looked at the scarlet eyes that watched him. "There is only so much that can be said in Latin. Do you speak another?"

The boy blinked, the tears having disappeared, and his lips parted in a smile. He tried Romanian, Turkish, and then German. The priest frowned as he responded in the last. "I speak German." Anderson watched when the boy began to shiver with emotion, laughing, oblivious of the blade that was searing into his flesh. He spoke in an old form of German, making Anderson's eyes narrow in concentration.

"Please, Father. Do not leave me. I have not been able to communicate with any other during these recent weeks. I do not know this strange place. There are roaring monsters that sweep by people as they journey with humans conducting them from the inside. The air is heavy and filled with poison. The sun's power has been captured in glass bulbs. What kind of place is this? We are surrounded by infidels that do not respect a Holy man like yourself when you walk by them."

Anderson stared at the vampire for a moment, his mouth in a small gape. "Are you Roman Catholic?"

The boy paused and then nodded. "Yes, Father. I am the son of Vlad Dracul, one who has sworn to fight for the Lord, though he has sadly fallen from this path and has sided with the infidel Muslims of the Turkish sultanate and I was gifted to the sultan with my brother. I do not know how I have come to this place, but I am rejected by the Lord. It is because the sultan has dirtied me, Father. How can I redeem myself in the Lord's eyes?"

"Are you sure you are the monster Alucard?" Pip responded with a twitch as he was finally able to recognize a word, but the boy showed only confusion and a somber expression.

"I believe I am dirty, perhaps a monster…yes I am one, but that is the Turk's doing. I do not know this thing I hear often of…Alucard…what is it? What does it mean?"

Anderson gritted his teeth, not enjoying having to speak to the vampire as if it were a human. Only the scarlet eyes and the steaming bayonet reminded him of the creature's identity. "What of the name Dracula? You have said Dracul."

Alucard's eyes brightened. "That is part of my name, Vladimir Tepes Dracula III. The order of the dragon which is dedicated to ridding the Holy land of the Muslims and other infidels."

The priest's eyes narrowed, surprising the boy. "You mean to say…the name Dracula is from a Holy order?"

"Yes, Father? What is wrong?"

Anderson's anger was controlled when he saw the wide eyes question him. He grunted his displeasure at the conversation and moved forward to take out the blade that was pinning the boy to the wall so that his feet hovered above the ground. The child only winced and then the wound healed itself when he dropped to the cement. He stood, looking up at the priest. Anderson was still bent over for the purpose of removing the blade and the priest started when he felt cold hands near his face. Alucard's fingers were touching his glasses in curiosity, gently grazing the priest's cheeks at times. He looked over the hands at the vampire's eyes while Pip was shifting his weight on his feet uncomfortably.

"Why do you wear glass over your eyes, Father? They are like the ones the beautiful Queen wears."

"Queen?" the odd statement distracted Anderson and he did not straighten to leave the vampire's touch.

"The Queen with the golden hair and azure eyes that would make the great sea cry in envy. She sits behind a great wooden table in a humble throne in a room with a magnificent window that is positioned to catch the moon." Anderson's eyes widened as he realized the vampire was talking about Integra. "You too have pretty eyes, Father. Does the glass stand there to protect them?"

Pip watched with interest at the flustered expression that came to the priest. Anderson stood up, frowning and trying to glare at the boy. "Is this a game?"

Alucard looked hurt and he frowned as well. "I am sorry if I was mistaken, Father."

Anderson shook his head sharply. "No. Do you really not know anything? What you are? Nosferatu? Vampire? One who was a man and now drinks the blood of mankind?"

The eyes looked on without understanding until the last question, then they blinked and the boy recoiled. "I have never heard of a creature that drinks the blood of a man and has been a human, other than the crazed or the demons of myth. Am I possessed by the devil, Father? I have not drunk blood, but I have been thrown from a great height and have not died. I have been hurt and have healed. I can walk through walls like a spirit. I do not eat or drink. I have, also, this strength that is not reasonable for one of my age and size. Have the Turk's infected me with some evil?"

Anderson scowled half heartedly and turned to Pip who tightened his grip on his gun. "This is your problem." Then he began to walk away. He was able to take a few steps before he was knocked to the ground by an overzealous vampire.

"Please! You must not leave me! Please! I have to get back to my world! I have to redeem myself with the Lord! I have to take back Radu's soul!"

Anderson stopped trying to get up when he caught the name. "Who is Radu?" he murmured slowly, able to detach the vampire's hands now.

"My little brother. The Turks have tempted him and stolen his soul from God. He is too young to know to refuse comfort and endure pain for the Lord. He was frightened into it, Father. He will end his sin of being an infidel if I can take him from the sultan."

All of this meant nothing to the paladin and he was only able to understand the boy's desperation and misery. He sighed and sat up from the grimy floor, his eyes twitching at the filth, but he gave up on being angered when the boy apologized. "You can tell that woman you spoke of before. She's more likely to be able to do something." He tried to get up but little hand forced him to stay.

"I cannot understand her language. I cannot speak to anyone but you. I need you, Father. Please help me."

The mercenaries were gawking at the Iscariot and then the little boy that marched in front of them as they approached the estate. Men who had remained at the mansion welcomed those returning until some of the other men described the character of the priest. Alucard frowned as he saw that Anderson had been detained at the gate, and he retreated to the other side of it, leaving Integra who had just stepped from the front door.

She gave a long doubtful stare at the priest and then looked at Alucard who was pulling on Anderson's sleeve and speaking to him in German. Her eyes widened when the paladin responded and the two appeared to be able to communicate.

Anderson growled, catching her attention. Then he gave a final look at the little boy and faced Integra.

"He wants to apologize…to…the Queen. I'm assuming that means you. And he wants to ask for forgiveness for harming and upsetting the little girl. Probably…that other vampire." Anderson was looking at her defiantly as he struggled not to avert his eyes at the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"What are you doing, Father Anderson?" Integra blinked, still trying to digest the moment. "You can understand him? Why would you help?"

"Shut up, Hellsing." Anderson hissed. Alucard immediately grabbed his sleeve and gave it a hard yank.

"You are being mean to her, are you not Father?" Alucard stared into Anderson's face.

Anderson grimaced, glaring at the boy. "I'm not being _mean_." He growled as a feeling akin to one that accumulated with the presence of his orphans was now originating from the vampire.

"I'm not stupid." The vampire argued with a frown.

Integra watched the two bicker and she couldn't help but smile at the sight. It also amused her that Alucard thought she was a Queen… With a smirk she gave the order to let the priest enter the estate.


	2. Chapter 2

"Can you tell Alucard of what his current situation is?" Integra ran her hand over the surface of her desk before bringing her hands and folding them before herself. Her eyes looked directly into Anderson's. "He must know that I am his master and what exactly he is and what he must refrain from doing."

Anderson glared at her before glancing down at the boy that stood beside him. Alucard looked away from Integra and waited as the priest hesitated. He repeated what Integra had said and touched the subject of what a vampire was and that he shouldn't bite people, revealing to the widened eyes the consequences for doing such a thing.

"But what does Alucard mean?"

Integra straightened when she heard the name but Anderson ignored her. "It is your name. You were a vampire king who was defeated by this woman's ancestor and he enslaved you and gave you this name. You serve the Hellsings and kill vampires." He noticed the confusion and the hint of outrage in the vampire and his voice became callous, startling Alucard. "This is not another world. This is the same world as the one you spoke of, only it is the future. Much time has passed since the one you remember. All of those who you knew before are gone…this is your life now. You are an undead demon who has killed and consumed many."

Alucard gaped at him, his eyes growing bright while his features twisted. "What of Radu? What of my country? What….what of me?"

Anderson flinched at the window of despair and Integra stood. "What is going on…?" her voice was erased as Alucard's rose.

"WHAT OF ME?" he grabbed Anderson's cassock and shook him unintentionally in his passion. "What about me? I am damned and yet have no conscious knowledge of my sins? I cannot redeem myself? I will be spurned and hated by the Holy Father for all of eternity?" Red welled in his eyes, but a hiccup forestalled their release. "It is the Turks'… but…I don't want to be a monster! I don't! I…" his eyes widened and then shut tightly as he bent forward, his body trembling excessively. "I don't want to be a monster!"

"What have you done Father Anderson?" Integra hissed over the hushed sobs of the face buried in the cloth of the priest's garments. Anderson's face was uncharacteristically devoid of emotion, startling Hellsing and she waited for his answer as moments passed. Green eyes gazed down at the broken soul before they closed and he frowned in disgust.

"I told him that he was a vampire…of his situation." He looked coldly at the woman. "Just as you wanted."

"W…What is he saying?" her knuckles began to turn white but Integra continued to grasp the edge of her desk to control her emotions. She scowled and repeated herself when Anderson did not respond.

"'I don't want to be a monster.'"

A small gasp went unheard when the door opened, leaving Integra to wonder her own weakness at the moment and the vampire's current state. The room froze, except for the boy, as Seras stood at the doorway. Her eyes narrowed at the sound and then moved to the boy.

"Shut up, brat."

Anderson blinked at the alien behavior of the fledgling and his face turned downward to the vampire who had pulled away and was composing himself. He turned to Seras and there was a pause. Both Anderson and Integra flinched when the No-Life-King bowed to the lesser vampire, clearly stating his apology in German for Anderson to translate.

Alucard hesitated for a moment and then finished. "I seek your forgiveness, please. Two of the same fate should not estrange one another."

Anderson's face was unreadable when he translated the last statement and the girl's eyes twitched. She laughed, making the adults pale and Alucard's eyebrows knitted and he glanced at Anderson.

"So you can speak now?" Seras sneered, making Anderson's shock grow. Suddenly Seras lunged forward and gripped the boy's garments in her hands, making his head loll when she shook him as hard as she could. "The same fate? Shut up, you little brat! You have no idea about my fate or who I am!" She threw him away and Alucard landed on the ground in a daze. "I want nothing to do with you!"

She gasped indignantly when a large hand encircled her arm and she hissed at Anderson, lashing out at him. She managed to break away for a moment and she made for the door, but the priest caught her again. She shrieked and kicked at him before resorting to pounding on his chest. "LET GO, DAMN YOU! STUPID PRIEST!" Integra was quiet as she did not know how to respond to the scene. Her heart fluttered when she imagined the priest going up against her seriously impaired vampires. She opened her mouth but a rougher voice cut in before her.

"Why are you so angry?"

Seras ignored the familiar question and she screamed in outrage as she found herself unable to detach the grip on her arm. "You're hurting me!" Integra flinched, but Anderson only frowned.

"No I'm not." The situation was not alien to him, having worked in orphanages for a span of years now. "Why are you lying? Why are you screaming?"

"Shut up, bastard! Go to Hell!"

Anderson was unfazed by the profanity and he waited for the girl to calm a little, then he remembered that she was a vampire and would not tire easily. "Why are you unhappy?"

Seras stopped and she glowered up at the paladin, surprising those in the room when her eyes flashed red. "Why am I unhappy? ISN'T THAT OBVIOUS?"

"No." the flat answer made Seras blink, but she recovered immediately and sneered at the green eyes.

"You don't know my little story? Hm?" there was sarcasm dripping from her words, unnerving Integra while Alucard watched intently though he could not understand what was being said.

"My daddy was a police man." The childish word made the girl seem smaller and all eyes were glued to her. "But people were mad because he would stop them when they did bad things. So guess what? Go ahead. Guess what happened!" Anderson's eyes narrowed at her erratic behavior and he was silent. "Two men came to our house…and they shot my daddy!" she chuckled, her eyes bright at the dullness in the green above her. "They did more than that too. Mommy stuffed me in the closet and then they shot her too!" Integra's hand was covering her mouth and she bit her finger when tears rolled down Seras' cheeks. "They shot my mommy, and I came out and stabbed one of the men in the eye. Then they shot me too…" her hand went to her stomach absently. "And then they…they…" At this point Seras was bawling and nothing intelligible could be discerned from her wail. Walter came into the room at the commotion and the girl was led to the door before she refused to go further and she went back to the priest. "So?" she sniffled, rubbing her face with her pink sleeve. "You think he can have the same fate as me? He's a little spoiled brat who runs away for no reason. They all are."

Blue eyes widened when Anderson patted her on the head. "Yes. You have more reason to cry than most." Walter and Integra were lost from the moment as Seras stared at the priest. Abruptly she startled even Father Anderson by hugging him and she started to cry again, but stifled it. Then she looked up at the priest and mumbled as her face returned to his garments.

"I guess you're not that stupid, Priest." Quiet only lasted for a moment before Seras pulled away and was tugging on Anderson's sleeve. "I like you. Be my friend."

The priest looked at her blankly as he remembered what she was. Integra and Walter were aghast.

"You're staying right? Be my friend, Mr. Priest."

"I guess Father Anderson is just gifted when it comes to children." Anderson peered over his shoulder when Integra settled in her chair and stuck a cigar in her mouth. Walter lit it for her and she gave a couple puffs before she smirked. "You are staying, right Anderson?"

Anderson gave her an exasperated look. "You want me to babysit your monsters?"

Integra chuckled, smoke trailing to the ceiling. "Yes."

Anderson was walking down an obscure hall, trying not to trip as Seras insisted on clinging to his arm. Her merry mood left though when she noticed the figure that was following them. She scowled and stopped. Anderson followed her glare and found Alucard some distance behind them. His steps faltered and he dithered about what to do, looking around without any reason to. Finally he sighed and looked guiltily from the girl to the priest.

"I never got to hear the response to my apology, Father. I am sorry if I am interrupting…" Anderson frowned at the quiet voice and he couldn't stop some warmth coming into his eyes. He had come when the boy begged him and almost instantly another had claimed him…leaving the vampire all alone once more. "Father?"

He broke away from his pity and looked at the girl, though Alucard had been the one to speak. "Can I tell him what you said before? You said he could not understand you, that it was because he knew nothing about you…"

Seras' demeanor became unsure for a moment but then her eyes hardened and she nodded.

She stared at Alucard as his face showed some pity for her, but it was not the amount she was used to getting from others…and children usually hugged her and said all this stuff about how sad the story was. His pity…was so mild, it disturbed her as it also made Anderson question what he had gotten himself into.

"Then what happened?" Anderson paused at the question.

"She didn't continue…but isn't that sad?" The additional question surprised Alucard and he waited before agreeing that it was.

"But that is common, to some extent, in my time. My father was assassinated along with my eldest half-brother, but I did not like either so I cannot understand the sadness she feels. My family, my father, betrayed me. Her father died for her. There is a significant difference, is there not Father?" Anderson's eyes were wide, enticing Seras' curiosity and she begged him to tell her what Alucard had said. Anderson did so unwillingly.

He continued after directly translating the vampire's words. "So you two are entirely different and the same at once." The priest started at Seras' open and confused expression.

"But what does he mean by betrayed? He didn't love his family? He really is a monster."

Anderson watched the girl, reasoning with her words. He really is a monster….but I did not like either so I cannot understand the sadness she feels. He recalled what the vampire had told him in the ally. "He was given to his enemy. People he saw as being evil." Seras' confusion melded with his own and he asked Alucard to clarify what he had meant from before.

The red eyes widened and then narrowed, however, he began to speak in a low voice, clearly despising the memory. "I was given to the Sultan…to the Ottoman Turks as a gift as my father sought their support for the position on the Wallachia throne. He served them…I believe…while Mircea…my half-brother, was on the throne. Mircea died first…probably…" He shook his head as he was becoming distracted. "It is much like the Janissaries. Christian boys who are used as soldiers or eunuchs or advisors…Radu and I were literal gifts for the Sultan and the prince. But I did not obey them and remained a Catholic. Though they separated us, I was still schooled as was Radu. Radu was with the court, he was like royalty with the prince… I didn't want that and resisted and was defiant. I retaliated and said things that were foolish and did nothing but anger the Sultan and I was punished severely for my poor conduct."

"Punished?" Anderson's voice was unusually quiet, alarming Seras, and the priest had to repeat his question in German.

"Whips, but the scars are gone now. That is the only thing I do not mind about being a monster. It is as if my past can be forgotten and I can move forward without it weighing me down…except for in sleep, I can forget it mostly."

By now Anderson was extremely uncomfortable with the two children and he looked at them, too apprehensive to ask them how old they were. He briefly summarized what Alucard had said, telling this to Seras in English. It sickened him when she was impressed by what he had said, but she still shook her head.

"It is still not like me. I would rather be whipped." Her eyes narrowed and she looked at the doors in the hall. "Let's go to my room…tell him to come. I want to finish my story."

"What I couldn't say before…why my story is worse…" Seras wrung her hands nervously, sitting on her desk while Anderson was sitting in the chair. Alucard stood in the middle of the room. "The guy I stabbed in the eye…he…" her voice was shaking but Anderson's hand ruffled her hair.

"You don't have to say anything."

She smiled sheepishly and shook her head. "No. It doesn't make sense unless the whole story is said." She clasped her hands together, and kicked her legs through the air. "He said his story and mine is different…worse…but he doesn't know everything that happened so…" her voice dropped and she sighed before straightening, determined. "He raped my mom's dead body…right when I was there. I couldn't do anything because they had shot me and…." She quieted at Anderson's disgust and pity.

"I don't know if that is something to tell a child." His hand ran over her head as she shook it.

"I know it, so what if he does? We're the same age, and he's a boy."

Anderson gave in and translated what Seras had said. Alucard's eyes grew wide and he looked at Seras with the same mild pity as before, but perhaps with more understanding.

"Yes, that is indeed horrible." Anderson asked why Alucard seemed to lack real emotion, as he had before. "Because it is still not that uncommon, though to a corpse…" his mouth became a line. "…it is unfortunate and she has my pity. Such a thing…she will never forget…such a defiling act. That man…no both of them…were monsters."

Anderson told this to Seras and she was quiet. Both did not expect it when Alucard began to speak again.

"Should I tell my story, then? It may not be appropriate, but what she has said may equal it and that is what she is seeking, is it not?"

Seras didn't speak when Anderson translated, taken aback by the additional information that Alucard had withheld before, but she nodded that he should also tell. "I want to know if we are on the same footing…else he's still a brat, maybe not so much as others but still…"

Alucard sighed and he caught his hands together for a moment, almost seeming to pray, but he released his hands to his sides too quickly.

"The Sultan dirtied me with his touch, so God does not want me anymore and I have become a monster and am sinful and evil now."

Anderson stared at the boy and then shook his head. Seras blinking at how brief and emotionless the statement had been. "What do you mean?"

Fangs bit into Alucard bottom lip and he looked up at Anderson, unsure as to how he should continue. "He dirtied me. I thought it was a trial that I was to overcome, to suffer now and find salvation with death. I did not mind that God did nothing…it was my test and I was determined to pass it…never to beg for mercy from the Lord. I wanted to live and die for him. To free the Holy land and destroy the Turks."

"I don't understand."

Alucard searched the paladin's face, his eyes becoming empty and he looked away. "It is sinful, the act between two males. He did what is meant to be held sacredly between a husband and wife. I am dirty and sinful and have no place with God because of this."

Anderson was pale and his lip twitched as he stared at the vampire with wide green eyes behind his glasses. "He had…intercourse with…" The vampire flinched at the word and he grimaced. "…a child…"

"It is sinful to even speak of, Father. I am sorry that I have mentioned it. But…I am a dirty being and God cast me aside and made me a monster. That is understandable…I had such fantasies of killing the Turks, that this and myself must have been what damned me… I just thought that they were monsters and it would be alright to kill them…in the future when I could…"

"You were raped?"

Alucard looked up and started at the painful expression and the shuddering whisper as the priest's face went to his hands, alarming Seras who was closest to him.

"Wha…what?" she stopped kicking her legs in the air and she hopped off the desk, watching the priest uncomfortably. She caught sight of Alucard in the corner of her eyes and she advanced on him. "What did you do?"

"Stop." Anderson was holding on to her shoulder, looking at both of the children.

"What did he say?' Seras demanded heatedly, turning away from Alucard's whose face was twisted with confusion and despair.

"I'm sorry, Father…" he began, but Anderson silenced him.

"That is not your fault…you aren't dirty…" Anderson spoke with difficulty, trying to compose himself. He looked at Seras and then averted his eyes. "He told me his story…that's all."

She stiffened and then demanded to know what had been said. Anderson refused and she began to yell, inviting Walter to inspect the noise as he passed the door, looking for the trio. His eyes widened at Anderson's worn expression and the other upset faces. Seras ignored the butler and continued.

"I told my whole story! It's not fair that I don't get to hear his! Tell me! Tell me, damn it!"

Anderson's eyes lingered on Walter and then he looked at the floor. "No. It's not something a child should hear."

"But we're the same age! If he can know, so can I!"

This only upset Anderson further and he looked at Walter before standing, hesitantly, he took Alucard's shoulder and brought him along as he left the room. Walter took the hint and struggled to calm Seras as she tried to follow.

"It's not fair! So what if his story is worse…my…I…I still want the priest to be with me too!" Walter sighed at the tears that were beginning in Seras' eyes and he told her quietly that it was time for bed and Alucard would be sleeping soon as well, especially because he had not slept the day before.

Anderson sat in Integra's office, allowing Alucard to climb into his lap, much to Hellsing's amazement. Walter watched in quiet, having just returned from Seras' room.

"You create peace as well as turmoil, priest. What happened?" she set her cigar aside. "Seras is said to be in quite a state right now."

"Do you think Alucard is a monster?"

There was stunned silence and it took some time for Integra to recover. She scowled at the question but admitted that she did believe that.

"Why?"

"Father Anderson." She warned, hostility in her tone. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I just want to know." He looked at Alucard who was slowly falling asleep. "He can't understand what we are saying anyway."

Integra sighed as if from exhaustion. "You have fought him…you know. How he kills…how he enjoys it. I forget at times…but that is what he is. A vampire. A monster. Even in life, impaling thousands and killing with zeal. It is sad, but it is also the truth."

"What if I could legitimize all he did when he was alive…and even his behavior as a vampire now?"

There was no word to describe Integra and Walter's shock as Anderson told them the vampire's words and beliefs…and the probable desolation in which he had died and then awakened as a monster.

"It might mean nothing, but what if this was the root of his madness?"

They had nothing to say and watched the sleeping boy nestle against the priest. All eyes went to the door when it created open a while later. Seras' eyes widened when she found the priest and Alucard, but she calmed when she saw that the boy was asleep, though she still didn't like that he got to be with the priest and was not in his room. She bit her lip and blue eyes moved up to Anderson.

"I wanted to know if you would be here when I wake up."

Anderson didn't say anything and then shook his head. "I have to leave soon." Seras' disappointment made him frown and he looked at Integra for a moment and then the girl. "Maybe I'll come back in a day or two."

Seras watched as the boy wandered around the mansion. Growing bored, she stopped following him and went to Integra's office.

"When is Mr. Priest coming back?"

Integra blinked and then looked up from her papers. "Father Anderson will contact me, but he said it would be tomorrow or the day after. He doesn't live in England." Her eyes softened at the girl's depression.

Seras sighed and then looked out the window. "Who's gonna tell _him_ that?"

There was a pause. "Who?"

"The boy." Integra's eyes grew. "He's looking for the priest, I think. He's going to all of the rooms and stuff." Seras stopped when Integra walked around her and left the room.

Hellsing quickly found Walter where he had informed her he would be that morning, taking care of the kitchen and her morning meal. He showed the same doubt she had about how they would convince the boy that the priest had gone but would be returning. In the end they were forced to conclude that there was nothing that could be done and Integra returned to her office.

Integra watched with guilt when Alucard appeared in her office. The vampires usually woke in the afternoon and went to sleep closer to midnight, but it varied. Seras often got up in the morning while Alucard might wake up before dawn or at dusk. Their sleep pattern was unpredictable. Just then, it was close to midday. "Alucard?"

The boy stiffened and his eyes darkened for a moment and he shook his head, astonishing Integra as he corrected her. He pointed to himself, looking her in the eye. "Vladimir."

"Alright…Vladimir." Her eyes lightened when he smiled. Alucard looked about the room for a moment before he gave up and started for the wall. When Seras opened the door, he was just fazing through it. She stared at the place for a moment and then at Integra.

"Why can't I do cool stuff like that?" Seras pouted.

"Because Alucard is an ancient vampire, and he's a lot stronger than you." Integra was pleased with the change in behavior Seras had made since meeting with Anderson and she smiled pleasantly at the girl. "He's actually your Master…and the most powerful vampire in existence." Seras' eyes were large and then she scowled.

"Then I'll make him teach me how to do stuff. I beat all of the guys here in arm wrestling, so I'm bored." She stomped to the door, making Integra's eye twitch in irritation. "Let's see who's stronger." The girl muttered before the door closed, but Hellsing didn't hear her.

Alucard didn't understand when the blonde suddenly grabbed him and started demanding something. Seras groaned and let go. "You…" she stopped and looked him over for a moment. She changed her mind and pointed to herself. "Seras." She started to point at him but Alucard readily responded.

"Vladimir." Seras started and then frowned.

That stupid hag didn't even know his name? Stupid people… She went to the wall and slapped her had on it, motioning him to do the same. Then she mimed walking through it and he just stared at her mutely. "How do you walk through stuff?" she growled and then walked to the wall and then into it, frowning when she didn't pass through. The boy's eyes focused and he went to the wall and made his hand go through it, turning to the girl who clapped her hands and nodded enthusiastically. "How do you do it?"

Both of their faces fell when Alucard shook his head and said something in Romanian. Seras cursed for a moment and glared at the wall, then she glanced at the nervous boy. "What else can you do?" He didn't understand so she showed him how she could lift up a full bookcase. She wasn't thrilled when he easily did the same, but her face brightened when he showed that he could make the room darker, dimming the lights. He went on the build shadows from the darkness when the girl smiled. He stopped when some of the creatures in the shadows scared her and he turned the hound that was forming from his body into something that resembled a tamer dog. It still had six red eyes, but she didn't seem to mind that.

Pip balked when he saw the two vampires playing with a black dog in the grounds of the estate, peering from a window on the first floor. Seras didn't surprise him, but it was odd seeing Alucard play like a child, both of them laughing when the dog retrieved a stick or did tricks, some of which included running up a tree vertically, making the mercenary gawk. Walter found him like this and looked out the window, mirroring Pip's expression when he saw the children, especially the hellhound.

"What else can you do?" Alucard recognized Seras' question and he smiled mischievously as hundreds of little squeaks came from the bushes. Mice and rats began to file out of the shrubbery, alarming the men at the window when Seras screamed and ran away from Alucard while he chuckled. Then they saw the rodents. Pip cringed while Walter began to laugh. The boy soon stopped, afraid of scaring the girl away, and he got rid of the pests, bringing out a different kind of rodent. Little bunnies came from the shrubs and Seras squealed with delight and picked up as many as she could. Now it was Pip's turn to laugh while Walter was dumbfounded.

A brown ball of fluff was thrust into Integra Hellsing's face and she stared at the twitching little nose. Seras beamed as she held up the baby bunny. "Can I keep it?"

Integra just stared at it, making Seras repeat herself excitedly. "How did you catch it?" She remembered how she had tried as a child to catch the little beasts, but they had insisted on hopping away from her before she got close enough. Then again, Seras was a vampire…she had the advantage…

"Vladimir got it for me!" Seras brought the bunny to her face, rubbing her cheek against the soft fur. "He made hundreds, no, millions of bunnies come out." Her face lost some of its energy. "But first he made all of these gross mice and…uhhh…" she shuddered. "…rats come and chase me. He made up with the bunnies. He couldn't show me how to do anything though." She was smiling again.

Integra looked at the door where Alucard was standing quietly with Pip and Walter whose brow was furrowed. "Vladimir?" Alucard looked up at him and pointed to himself questioningly.

"Alucard's name seems to be Vladimir." Integra said, still captivated by the bunny and how her crazed vampire had been capable of such a feat all this time. "Bunny power." She sniggered to herself and Pip joined her.

"Mr. Alucard has the sexy attack….er….an Evil love beam or something, too."

The eyes, including the bunny's, stared at Pip, with the exception of Alucard who did so after a few moments.

"What?" Integra frowned and looked at the boy and then the mercenary with hostility. "What did you do to him?"

Pip froze and then blanched, waving his hands at the misunderstanding. "I'm talking about the bellboy at the hotel in Brazil." He laughed nervously. "After Mr. Alucard got really close to him and was whispering something, the boy let us take the coffins up to the room, and he had this weird smile on his face and he was all dazed and…yeah. The adult Alucard has that power…" His hand found the back of his head and he grumbled to himself. Integra frowned, but her mood made her find humor in the mercenary's words.

"Alucard can control minds." She chuckled at Pip's appearance. "He doesn't have an 'evil love beam'."


	3. Chapter 3

"MR. PRIEST!" Anderson started at the door as the blonde hair came hurtling towards him and pushed him back down the stairs. He muttered gruffly as the little girl hugged him, giggling madly. "Mr. Priest!"

He sighed and petted the small head with a forming smirk. "Yeah."

Two feet stopped by his face and he glanced at the white shoes and then looked up at the little boy who smiled timidly at him. "Hello, Father."

Anderson paused at the German words and then gave a slight, almost unwilling, smile. The children spent the day with the priest. Seras insisted on having Alucard demonstrate his powers and Anderson couldn't decide if he should accept or kill the boy. But when he saw the rabbits cuddle up to Alucard and wish to be near him, he knew he wouldn't be able to spill the monster's blood when he was in the form of a child.

"Father." They were outside and Anderson was sitting on the grass. Alucard beamed with happiness he had yet to show the priest and Anderson was struck dumb and didn't even see the bunny that was being handed to him with gentle hands. The boy saw the lack of a response and he chose to sit in the paladin's lap with the animal instead. "It is strange that such creatures that are almost like lambs of the Lord, can let one like myself hold them. They should fear me." He petted the rabbit, flattening the stiff ears for a moment.

"Maybe not." Anderson brushed hair from the boy's saddening expression, lighting it up again. Seras soon interrupted the moment by sitting on Alucard stubbornly and demanding to have a place in the priest's lap as well. Alucard got up and sat next to Anderson on the grass instead when the rabbit seemed to be endangered and the girl, secretly frantic for a share of the attention. His smile was not as bright, but it was content.

Night came quietly and the children went to their beds at a seemingly normal hour. Anderson was worn out and accepted an offered room. Morning came, but the vampires didn't awaken. They slept until the next night, disquieting the humans. There was the notion that was further supported when Seras waltzed into the office with her normal appearance and she screamed when she saw Anderson.

Integra began to worry about her other vampire's response and she went with Walter to speak to Alucard. Anderson followed when, out of a strange need, he felt obliged to accompany them. They reached the door and opened it to find a figure that resembled the vampire Alucard in the bed, but when Integra approached, she gasped and backed away while Walter froze in his place. Both responses prompted Anderson to enter the room as the red eyes opened, telling of the man's identity.

* * *

The man known as 'The Impaler', the man who was once known as thus, held such a presence in the office that the light dimmed with the weight of dread and the priest questioned all his past theories on legitimizing anything about the vampire Alucard. The man was only a few years passed the age Alucard usually appeared as, but the dark expression and lack of emotions made his appearance older. He wore black, humble garments that did not fit his visage.

Anderson finished updating the stolid man on the current state of matters, but he was unsure as to how well Vladimir Tepes had been listening. He had been watching Integra almost obsessively the endurance of the speech, looking away only once or twice to eye the girl who held a bunny in her lap and was trying not to shiver under his gaze. Anderson felt as if there was a threat in the vampire, posed against the women, and an instinct as a man made him protective of them. He lowered his tone and narrowed his eyes to an extent, though he felt the intimidation from the seemingly younger or older man.

"Why do you watch the women?"

Red eyes darted to Anderson suddenly, but the priest masked his surprise by putting his elbows on the table and lacing his fingers before his mouth.

"It is not what you think, Father." Anderson couldn't help but flinch at the sentence that could have easily come from the child of his memory. "The girl you have said to be my fledgling, is a vampire of my creation, but I cannot fathom why, if I am a hellish thing, I would infect her with such a curse, or so desire eternal damnation together with her. She does not seem terribly bright." The priest almost snorted, tightening his hands to stave this off. His shoulders lost some of their rigidity as he felt relief at the words that killed off his suspicion. "I also do not know how to treat the girl if this is what she is. As my daughter? I have no experience nor skill in that area. Why does she have the animal? It is too young, useless for meat, and she does not seem prepared to eat it. She is old enough to not be immature as a child, as she seems to be."

Anderson's eyes blinked and he sat upright, putting his hands on the armrest of his chair in the same manner as the man opposite himself. "It's a pet you gave her in your child form. We do not need to eat rabbits or even hunt during this time. Some do it as their profession and provide the food so that others of a different specialized occupation can focus on their jobs in society, all by choice."

The red eyes did not change. Nothing in the man's face showed variation, giving him a mean countenance that made him seem hostile, but, again, his words lacked opposition. "That would not have been possible during my time. This land must have quite an impressive government, a stable one. I assume they are at war with only the undead, secretly as you have provided. Everything is within a fluid yet coordinated system." His eyes went to Integra again and the woman met his gaze with hard indifference, if not a cold air.

"Why do you look at Integra Hellsing the most?"

Vladimir did not respond and Anderson resumed some of his uneasiness while Integra obviously possessed increasing distaste for the man. Then he spoke and Anderson's expression opened, catching Integra's attention. "She looks like, or just reminds me of, my wife. If she is to jump from the window behind her, then I should come to believe she is one and the same. My wife is dead, you see. I have a single son but not a daughter…that is my doubt about the girl."

Anderson stared at the man until he looked at the priest again. "What is it?"

His face showed no change when Anderson seemed to ignore him and the priest got up and went to Integra instead of answering, quelling the woman's doubts and then sparking alarm and curiosity in her eyes. They spoke and both came to the table. Anderson resumed his seat at one end while Alucard was at the other. Integra sat next to Anderson, disrupting what should have been in the room and the balance of order that had once distinguished Hellsing and the Iscariot. She and Anderson felt this but tried not to let it cement in their minds. The crimson eyes waited for them.

"It does not make sense that you would have had a wife, especially children, during your life." Anderson paused, trying to word what he meant to say in his third language.

"Why is that unexpected?" Both of the humans, accompanied by Seras, flinched at the hint of irritation in his tone. "I held the prospect of a family high in regard, though I kept the one in my possession poorly. War taking me from my son to let him grow up as a stranger, and unable to end the war before it took my wife's mind and she stole her soul away to the devil. They say I am evil, I am speaking of the Turks and the Janissaries that attempted to rid of me, then of my allies that I sought aid from, imprisoning me on false claims of treason, when my duties came from the mouth of the Pope himself. I was in a cell only the day before this, in my memory. A Holy man such as yourself thinking of me in such a way does not please me, but of course I hold none of this against you, Father. I have died, time has passed, I am a demon you should be resting on a spit of flames, to cast the ashes to the sea, and not talking to as you are."

Anderson was speechless. Then he slowly told Integra the main points of what had been said. "We did not mean to offend you. A man or woman must be a virgin in order to change from a human to a vampire. A situation in which this is not the case is unheard of." Anderson finished what he had been expected to say and he inquired the answer to his own questions. "You knew the Pope? Why would you think I should kill you at the moment?"

"I often held council with the Pope, as he sanctioned the crusade I was leading. He inspired me too, long ago, and I was the only man to take up his ideas with the weight of a sword." The man's eyes darkened a little. "If I am a monster, as with the girl, you should kill us both."

Anderson leaned back in his chair, amazed at the lack of sympathy and emotion, as well as the suggestion itself.

"What is it?" Integra looked at Alucard distractedly and focused on the paladin.

"He said I should kill him along with Seras Victoria." In the corner, Seras jolted and squeezed the bunny in her hands, paralyzed by what had come from her Master's mouth. He wanted her to die. And he wanted to die as well. It was cruel, like the smiting hand of death. She looked at the man and he did not return the gesture. That was what he was. He was like Death.

"We won't. Both of you are key components to Hellsing's force against monsters."

Vladimir was silent, but his eyes fell to the floor and a frown touched his lips.

Time went on and Seras left the room and Integra returned to her work at her desk, leaving Anderson to watch the vampire as it either looked upon Integra or the priest.

"What happened to Radu?"

The man blinked and showed a scowl for a moment, startling both Integra and the paladin. "He was trying to kill me before I was imprisoned by my allies. He is with the Ottoman Janissaries. He leads them. We are known as the 'Blood Brothers', both trying to kill one another…" His smirk was familiar but then his eyes brightened with a frightening flare that was only seen in the midst of battle when Anderson and the vampire fought. "That is what happened to my brother." Vladimir looked directly at Anderson after the light had faded from his face. "Why do you ask?"

"You told me, in depth, about the time you two spent within the Sultan's palace." There was a forestalled response from the vampire. His face became grave and then he snarled abruptly, making Integra's hand jolt as she wrote something.

"I should never have said anything to you. This was when I was in the child form you mentioned, undoubtedly. There is never a need for others to know this…" he looked at Integra. "Does the woman know?" His eyes widened a little. "My Master?"

"She knows."

The red eyes dulled to a grayish red and 'The Impaler' looked at nothing, facing the empty space of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

"Why?" Anderson looked into the red eyes and paused. "Why did you impale your victims on stakes?"

Vladimir Tepes gave a disagreeable smile, catching Integra's attention. He folded his legs and leaned back in his chair, the grin stretching to reveal his fangs. He didn't answer, causing a frown to creep across Anderson's face.

"Are you not going to answer? I doubt the Pope condoned such a practice." Anderson scowled at the vampire, feeling a frigid cold that took the room suddenly. Alucard continued to smile, and he even chuckled. The priest hissed in disgust, weakening the creature's grin.

"I was not the first, you know, Father." Anderson's eyes twitched, but he masked his surprise at the response. "My older brother impaled a few during his reign, but, I know, the numbers do not compare."

"But why?"

The vampire's lips twisted into a slight sneer, dulling the expression out of respect. "You already know the answer."

Anderson stiffened after a moment's thought and his eyes went to Integra Hellsing. They exchanged the quick glance and then sought 'the Impaler' once more. There was silence as they stared at the empty chair. Anderson's and Integra's brows furrowed in unison and the paladin stood, looking around the room, trying to understand why the man would leave. When green eyes went back to the chair Anderson paused at the locks of black hair he noted. Shaking his head in confusion and bent down to see why the vampire would be under the table. His eyes scanned over the bare and empty floor until they met the legs of the chair. His forehead creased and his eyes traced upward towards the seat to find a pair of red orbs gaze back at him.

In shock, the priest lost his hold on the edge of the table and there was a dull thunk as he fell backwards, alarming Integra who stood up. She was doused in confusion when Anderson let out a roaring laugh, flinching at how unaccustomed she was to the sound.

"What is it? Have you found him?" she spoke a little sharply, perturbed at her estrangement from the moment.

Anderson didn't even look at her, standing with a few chuckles fighting to leave his chest. He walked around the table with a broad smile that turned into a smirk when he stopped beside the chair and bent over, lifting a small figure up.

Integra's mouth fell to a gape and her glasses glinted with light as she stared at the baby that was wearing something that resembled a nightgown. But the affect of the long, untamed hair made the child seem like a baby girl rather than a boy. Large red eyes stared back at Integra, their gazes locking together. A wide toothless smile came to the baby and little arms stretched out towards her as Alucard giggled.

The sight made Anderson shake as he suppressed another fit of laughter and he pulled the baby to his chest and looked at the little face, snorting when it smiled.

"What a pathetic vampire you are." He chortled to himself, putting a finger into the little mouth. "You don't have any teeth, let alone fangs." The baby vampire began to attempt to gum the foreign object to death, failing miserably. Alucard didn't seem to understand this failure though, and he giggled again and looked for Integra, turning his head with difficulty. His legs kicked with excitement when he found her and he cried something in gibberish.

Integra hadn't moved a muscle during this time, and now she slowly relaxed her posture, softening her eyes at the baby and allowing herself to smile. "Alucard…you make a cute baby."

The baby Alucard giggled at her words, still reaching for her. Integra flinched as she realized the paladin was bringing the vampire to the desk and was now holding the baby out for her to take.

"Here's your vampire." He joked, forgetting who he was talking to, or not caring at the moment about the hostility between the Vatican and Hellsing.

Integra looked at the baby doubtfully and didn't move to take him. "I've never held a baby before, I'll just drop him."

"He's an undead vampire. I don't think you have to worry about that too much." Anderson watched her reluctance with interest and amusement as she seemed to be intimidated by the task. "It's good practice for the future."

Integra started and she frowned. "I don't plan on having any children."

There was quiet and Anderson stared at the female Hellsing until she inhaled sharply and looked at his wide eyes. Her own narrowed a little. "Don't tell Maxwell that, Father Anderson. Alright? I might change my mind anyway…"

"I won't." The baby was pushed into Integra's hands and she gasped, almost losing her balance, and hands hurried to secure the baby. The priest watched as Integra struggled. "What will happen to him when you…well….if you don't have an heir?"

Integra's arms stiffened, but she pretended to focus on the baby for several seconds. "The government will take over Hellsing if another family, a particular noble blood line, does not."

Anderson gave her a doubtful look. "Would he really serve…"

"Alucard is already an old friend of the Queen." She interrupted, smiling when she found that the baby was in no danger of falling. "It's not something one would expect from Alucard, but he'll respect a strong leader, no matter who they are." There was loose affection in her tone and the priest didn't speak, even when blue eyes looked at him. "Alucard respects those with strength, really. I believe you are one of them."

The paladin's hand twitched and he watched the baby as it snuggled against Integra and yawned. The absence of fangs made him smile and he ruffled the black hair. Integra's jaw tightened at the closeness, but she didn't recoil or stop the priest.

There was a short knock on the door before Walter came in with a tray consisting of Integra's late night tea. The old butler froze at the sight of his master being so close to Anderson and his eyes dropped to the priest's hand. The tray wobbled for a moment, but the seasoned professional soon recovered and he walked forward to put the tray on the desk.

He stared at the baby for a while and then smiled. "What would the past Hellsings say about this?" He smirked at the sleeping form in Integra's arms.

No one answered, but all soon came to share the smirk. Walter left and his place was taken and more than filled when Seras entered, followed by Pip who laughed outright when he saw the baby, startling it awake. He received several deadly glowers and quietly fell into silence. Seras clapped her hands excitedly and begged to have a turn.

"Can I hold him next? Oh! He's such a cute baby! Please, can I?"

Integra looked at Anderson and gave him the infant vampire and he in turn watched Seras take Alucard with a beaming smile. The baby stared at her in shock, after moving to so many different hands, and he gazed at the large mounds he was pressed against in wonder. A small hand went up suddenly and gripped the pocket of her uniform, making the police girl pause and giggle.

"Do you like my button?" She smiled warmly at the baby and Alucard returned the expression. He giggled as well and there was a sudden ripping sound as he tore the most of the shirt away, clapping his hands happily with the cloth in his fist. The room stared and Seras turned a violent red and shoved the baby back into Anderson's deadened hands, immediately covering her pink, lacy bra with shaking arms.

Pip howled with laughter as she dashed out of the room, and he looked at Alucard as the baby chewed on the shirt. "Good job, Mr. Alucard. You're my hero."

Red eyes blinked questioningly over the cloth that was dampening with drool. Pip patted the vampire's head before he looked up at Anderson's blank face. The mercenary laughed again with realization. He nudged the priest back into reality with his elbow, and the paladin jolted.

Anderson looked down at the baby sternly and he frowned. "Don't do that." Alucard looked up at him and smiled. The priest growled as he heard the laughing mercenary leave the room. "No. Bad vampire baby…you don't rip off girls' shirts." Green flicked to the sudden chuckle and found Integra retiring to her desk to enjoy her tea with a smile.

"He's definitely got charm." She snickered to herself as the priest watched her, not understanding.


	5. Chapter 5

I was searching through my documents and I realized that I had this chapter, and a few others for different stories, dusting in one of my folders...

I gave it a quick read...and here it is.

please enjoy

* * *

Anderson's eyes traced the infant's movements as its hands mapped his face and finally stopped when they bumped his glasses. Giggling enthusiastically, Alucard claimed the object as his own before Anderson realized what was going on. Frowning in disapproval, the priest tried to get his glasses back by easing them out of the vampire's fists. Red eyes widened and then the baby laughed, clutching the glasses to himself.

"No. Those are mine." The Iscariot said gently, struggling not to smile at the beaming little face. The words alerted Integra of what was going on and she watched them with humor. Eventually her eyes fell to her clock. She cocked an eyebrow and lost her humor reluctantly when she saw how late it was.

"Father Anderson."

The paladin paused, still wrestling the glasses from the baby, and looked at Integra. Alucard saw this as an ideal opportunity, and he put the metallic object in his mouth with a grin of triumph.

"It's late, so I'm retiring for the night. You are welcome to ask Walter to show you to a room." There was quiet and Integra watched Alucard gum Anderson's glasses with zeal. "Where should he sleep?"

"Hm?" Anderson looked down at the baby and growled when he saw his glasses coated in drool. "I…" he wrenched the glasses from the baby and Alucard whimpered in protest, reaching for them. "…think he can just sleep in his own bed." Anderson was rubbing off the saliva on his clothes as he spoke, not noticing Integra's amusement. "He doesn't breathe, so nothing is going to smother him…and he's…well…" Green ran over the infant. "Alucard…. He'll be alright even if he fell off a bed, but we can barricade him with pillows to prevent that from happening."

"We?"

The two adults looked at one another and the priest blinked in confusion. The female Hellsing gave a very unlady-like snort of amusement and smirked at Anderson. "Find another to play 'Mommy' Father Anderson…maybe you can get Walter to do that."

Anderson's face flushed with indignation and he scowled as the blush faded. "He's your vampire." The priest advanced on Integra and caught her off guard by shoving the baby into her hands. "I'm not playing 'Daddy'. I'll return in the afternoon."

Integra was unable to protest as she fought to secure her grip on Alucard, and Anderson walked out the door. In the end, Walter was gifted with the title of being 'Mommy' and he tucked little Alucard into bed as Integra slumped into her own and fell asleep.

* * *

Babies that were the age that Alucard appeared to be would be lucky if they could crawl a few yards before tiring out, but the vampire was much stronger than a human baby, and with the aid of some vampiric abilities that made doors and locks ineffective, baby Alucard found himself in a warmer bed when the sun rose. The vampire paused and looked at the sleeping individual, and soon a pleased smile came over the little face and the baby snuggled up against the body, startling the victim out of their content slumber.

* * *

"Sir?"

Integra looked up when her butler stood before her desk after serving her morning tea.

"Do you know where Alucard is? He wasn't in bed when I checked on my way here."

Blue eyes blinked at Walter and Integra opened her mouth, then closed it without saying a word. The tea began to grow cold as the two left the office to order the mercenaries to search for the vampire again.

They stopped by a door that was partially open. It contained several voices when it should only contain one. Walter looked at his master and the woman nodded, crossing her arms as Walter pushed the door open. They went unnoticed for several moments, allowing the duo to view the mercenaries as they watched their captain spoon some kind of juice into the vampire's open mouth. Each time the spoon returned to the creature, red eyes would watch it wearily and the fangless jaws would part. Alucard swallowed the juice quickly, but he always showed confusion or thoughtfulness afterwards.

"What are you doing?"

The men whipped around, while those who were sitting stood awkwardly. Pip straightened, eyeing the little vampire who was sitting in a chair next to him.

"The little guy woke me up…so I thought he was hungry." Pip laughed nervously and tossed his braid over his shoulder when and he looked at his boss' cold expression.

"What are you feeding him?"

"Melon juice."

Walter frowned as Integra blinked at the response. "We don't have melon juice."

"It's mine." Pip showed a bottle, picking it up from the table. His men were discreetly sneaking out the door as the butler and the female Hellsing entered the room.

Integra allowed the men to pass, finding them insignificant at the moment as she glared at their captain. "Why are you feeding him…" the female Hellsing gestured distastefully at the juice. "…that?"

Pip couldn't meet her gaze and he cleared his throat awkwardly, loath to answer the question. How the hell am I supposed to make someone like her understand the harmless humor of…er… The mercenary smiled, trying to laugh it off, but his pained expression was unconvincing. "It was…just what I…thought of at the time…what I had available…"

Integra sighed while Walter frowned, unsatisfied by the obvious falsehood. But the old man noted his mistress' lack of desire to continue the interrogation, so he left it at that, stepping forward to retrieve Alucard.

* * *

Integra set to work, filing through important and mundane documents while her baby vampire cooed happily on her lap. Walter had excused himself to see to the household chores, and the priest had left that morning to retrieve the small amount of luggage he had left in a modest hotel room. Integra was running through these memories absently as she organized her finished paperwork. She gasped out of her thoughts when Father Anderson suddenly opened the door without knocking, and then examined his flustered expression that came when he realized his mistake and hesitated about whether or not he should apologize to the heathen woman. About to wave off the offense, Integra lifted her hand, but the movement of air made her nerves spike in return, and blue eyes darted to the beading blood that seeped from a paper cut on her finger.

It was at this time she noticed the complete quiet that filled the room and she was reminded of the weight that rested on her lap. Her eyes deadened while her body became as stiff as the one that she could feel staring at her virgin blood. Occupied with her dawning horror, the woman stared at Anderson with an unfocused gaze, alarming the priest who frowned in confusion, not believing that he had inspired such a response from the Hellsing woman. Then green eyes, sensitive to the color red, caught sight of the woman's finger, and the large red eyes that were gazing at it, mesmerized.

The priest stepped towards the desk, making sure his movements would not startle the little vampire. He plucked the demon from Integra's lap and a gloved hand instantly dove towards a handkerchief that soon covered the minor wound. Both of the mortal beings watched the dazed infant wearily, seeing hunger and consideration in the bright crimson eyes as they looked at Integra, never blinking.

"He…" Integra whispered, staring back at her servant, her face pale. "…considers me as…food…" Green eyes darted to the woman. "…doesn't…he?" Hellsing wouldn't look away from the red eyes, her lips beginning to lose color as she bit them anxiously. She couldn't speak as Anderson suddenly whisked the baby out of the room and closed the door behind himself.

Alucard was watching the wall without seeing it as Anderson gazed down at the infant, walking down the corridor. Outside. He had to get away from people. The grounds…the best place at the moment… The priest flinched when he realized the undead eyes now rested on the hands that were holding the baby. The paladin's thumb twitched as the vampire leaned closer to his hand, and Anderson didn't notice when his strides became shorter. A moist, pink tongue stuck out between the baby's lips before he opened his mouth. Wide eyes watched as the appendage disappeared in the toothless jaws. Father Anderson was standing still now, rigid, as he felt soft gums bite his thumb again and again, but slowly the gums were becoming…harder.

Walter rounded the corner, coming into the hall just in time to hear the priest exclaim and fling the baby away from himself, sending Alucard into the hard wood flooring, tumbling backwards with the force. In utter shock, neither the baby nor Walter said anything, but the vampire still did not respond as the butler came to life and yelled angrily at the paladin, moving forward to pick up the baby. "Father Anderson…!" he gasped with an infuriated, shaking voice. "…We trusted you with him…and you….!"

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!"

Walter jolted and stopped, bent over the vampire. As he paused, the pale little face turned up to his own, making the Angel of Death reflexively jump backwards and away from the creature as an open mouth revealed a row of needle-like teeth. The man gaped in horror as he began to consider the consequences for this particular development. "Oh." He breathed, staring at the oblivious baby with forming dread. "He really was…hungry."

Walter felt the priest's sharp look and he explained what had occurred that morning. Anderson licked his lips nervously, identifying the close encounter with death the mercenary had, unknowingly, avoided. "Did he seem…to like the stuff?" Anderson was looking at the vampire again, and his eyes twitched as it seemed on the verge of tears, sniffling helplessly on the floor. But, neither of the men ventured forward to comfort the monster, too aware of the venomous fangs to do so. The priest blinked with a sudden revelation. "Seras Victoria…" the mortals looked at one another, slowly adopting a form of relief. Walter turned on his heel, heading towards the dungeon, until Anderson stopped him, coming across another possibility as he realized how useless the vampire might prove to be during the day. "We could put him in a coffin…I can make it so he won't be able to open it easily, until nightfall…"

Unenthusiastic about the option, Walter slowly nodded and watched as Anderson pulled out a Holy scripture and walked to the baby that was whimpering now. The Holy artifact was quickly positioned to cover the lethal mouth while strong arms grabbed the vampire and hurried it down the hall, following the butler.

Both cringed when the child let out muffled wails as the skin around the page began to smoke, filling their noses with the scent of burning flesh. The cell easily held the stomach turning smell as the two descended the steep stairs, down into the vampire's domain. Anderson didn't notice his surroundings until he was looking down at a pitch black coffin with white writing scrawled at the top and bottom of the lid. Before he could make sense of the words, Walter had grunted with effort, trying to remove the heavy lid by himself. Anderson instantly set the crying baby on the stones and helped the man open the lid. The priest then pulled away the scripture, inciting a sharp cry from Alucard, before he hastily set the baby in the soft, red silk interior, over the thin layer of earth, and the mortals shut the coffin again before the baby could sit up, though it didn't attempt to. Alucard had curled up, howling in pain and fear, and the sound pieced through the wood of the casket.

The crying cut into the men's hearts, but Anderson still completed the task of sealing the sarcophagus with a layer of scriptures and a rosary he lowered to the lid solemnly.

* * *

"WHAT?" Integra's fists scattered her stack of papers as she stood from her chair and leaned over the massive desk to gawk at the sullen expressions. Walter seemed to be drowning with shame and neither he nor Anderson would look at her directly.

"I'm afraid…we were a bit…rushed…with our reasoning." Walter said quietly, and Integra tried to calm her temper, but her arms seemed to convulse and she dug her knuckles into her desk.

"Did you even attempt to feed him blood?" two heads jerked up and then ducked or turned away from the woman. "We have **BLOOD PACKETS** for a reason!"

"It was too dangerous….holding him…" Anderson responded slowly, but Integra just snarled and left her desk. She pushed the priest towards the door, managing to unbalance the large man who started in surprise. No one spoke as they went either to fetch a few blood packets or to see to the vampire in the coffin.

Anderson and Integra waited for Walter at the door before they set to the task of retrieving the baby from the casket. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, the humans flinched at the muffled sounds coming from the coffin. Walter handed the packets to his mistress and then helped Anderson push back the lid. The priest lifted the screaming infant while the butler shoved the lid back into place, staring at the blood that was dripping from the undead face and noticing that the white garment Alucard was wearing was stained with deep red blotches.

Anderson jerked and held the vampire further away from himself, cringing as the bloody mess reached for him screeching in a high pitched wail. Integra watched with a contorted expression, clearly seeing the flashing fangs.

"Christ!" She exclaimed over the cries and then turned to Walter impatiently. "Get Seras! I don't care if you have to wake her up! GET HER OVER HERE NOW!" Walter left the room and Integra glared at Anderson's ginger handling of the distraught baby. "At least hold him!" She hissed and the paladin returned her glare.

Abruptly, he thrust the vampire towards her and roared over the crying. "THEN YOU HOLD HIM! HE'S YOURS ANYWAY!"

Integra's features twisted and she backed away from the beseeching, streaming eyes. Anderson growled in disgust and turned away from the Hellsing.

The baby was grabbing at the priest's hands, little claws developing slowly, leaving scrapes that were too shallow to draw blood. Tiny fingers caught a sleeve and clung to it desperately as the screaming continued. The wails were interrupted when Seras claimed the infant from Father Anderson, who inhaled sharply, and all eyes watched as the girl clutched the baby to her chest.

The child immediately started to cry again, burying into the Hellsing uniform while gentle arms rocked it as hushes caressed the dark locks of wavy hair. Seras was overwhelmed with pity and she whimpered once, in unison with the child and then looked at Integra and the others around her before securing her hold on her little master and cradling him closer. "He's…he's trembling…_so_ much."

The humans couldn't speak as they watched the shivering, hiccupping, baby cling to Seras and continue to let out piteous cries.

"He's scared." The fledgling whined miserably and started whispering reassurances into the baby's hair. Her blue eyes wandered to the faces around her once more, and trembling lips whispered. "Wh…what am I supposed to do?"

"Just hold him." Anderson's voice cracked as he spoke. No one took real notice, but Integra glanced at the despondent man when he walked to the side of the chamber and faced the wall, staring at the stone flooring.

I can't believe I put a baby on this cold floor…he thought dejectedly and sighed as he heard the continued string of hiccupping sobs, carried by the fragile, unsteady voice of the infant monster. "Oh." The priest shuddered, but his head jerked up when he noticed a figure stand next him. Integra was looking away from the wall, her eyes searching the chamber.

"It's not your fault."

There was quiet as the paladin's eyes remained on the steady features of the woman. Then Anderson sighed, turning as he did so, to look boldly at the fledgling and her pitiful master as the demons whimpered feebly and the baby let out an additional cry.

"It was dangerous, like you said. We couldn't have done anything…" Integra continued, but this time the priest didn't look at her.

Slowly, only hiccups remained from the sobbing and Alucard quieted and dozed as he was gently moved in Seras' arms so that the girl could rock him effectively. Finally, with one last, gripping shudder, Alucard fell asleep and the room fell into silence.


End file.
